Thursday 4 June 2009 16.30 EDT
First published on Thursday 4 June 2009 16.30 EDT

"What is personal is political": does this 70s slogan apply today in Italy? Italians disagree, but these upcoming elections should make it clear. The real news about them – both the European and local vote will be held on 6 and 7 June – is that many Italians, fed up with politics, won't vote: an all-time low in the history of Italy's elections is expected, according to all polls.

No wonder – the issues and the candidates are obscure to say the least. The only star is Silvio Berlusconi, well known for his personal escapades, but also for what is considered his number one political achievement: injecting optimism through his many public appearances in a time of deep crisis, when in any other country – under fire for unemployment levels and economic despair – opposition would wipe him out.

The opposition thought that the latest sex scandal would doom him, but so close to the elections it is far from likely. The fact is that, according to polls, Berlusconi is leading with a landslide majority with his Popolo delle Libertà (PdL) party, which holds together Forza Italia and Gianfranco Fini's Alleanza Nazionale (the ex-fascist party). Also the Lega Nord, in coalition with the Pdl, is doing very well with it's anti-immigration slogans. And supposedly even Pierferdinando Casini's Unione Democratica di Centro (Udc) party, which stands alone in the centre after leaving Berlusconi's Pdl, will apparently make it.

The opposition, on the contrary, can only count on the popularity of ex-magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, with his anti-Berlusconi programme that brings together many citizens fed up with him. "You are called to choose between dictatorship and democracy: the results will have an impact on the destiny of our country for the next years to come. Tear the clown mask off the corruptor Silvio Berlusconi" is the imploring message of Di Pietro on his blog. Di Pietro's party, Italia dei Valori (Idv), or Italy of values, according to polls will do pretty well: but it is based on the personal reputation of Di Pietro and that of journalist Marco Travaglio, known for his anti-Berlusconi reporting.

While Emma Bonino, running in the list with Marco Pannella, complains about lack of equal visibility on public television for their Radical party list, which is not likely to reach the minimum 4% required to get a representative elected in Europe, the bigger Partito Democratico, or Pd, can count on a little-known leader, Dario Franceschini, who took the place of the last loser Walter Veltroni. Franceschini is trying hard to win over the undecided voters on the left. But according to most analysts, leftist voters are very little motivated to go the polls this weekend, nauseated by a political campaign centred on gossip about Berlusconi's sex life: "If Berlusconi wins on Sunday, the quality of democracy is at risk," warns Franceschini. After many months in silence, even ex-premier Romano Prodi came back with appeals to the electorate for a Pd vote: "It's not time for distinctions or not-voting, the Pd is the only concrete answer". How many times have Italians voted like this, without conviction, because there was no better choice? Too many.

On 2 June, the anniversary of the birth of the Italian republic, Berlusconi managed to arrive late again at an official ceremony, this time at the appointment with President Giorgio Napolitano for the official commemoration in Rome, supposedly for health reasons (a neck ache). But he looks happily beyond the embarrassments of his sexual scandal: the attention was craftily moved on to his estranged wife Veronica, accused (whether accurately or not doesn't matter) of having an affair with the bodyguard that he assigned her. In the couple of days left of the electoral campaign "Il Cavaliere" can concentrate on his political successes: the clean-up of Naples, swamped with garbage; the quick rescue of earthquake victims in Abruzzo; the new laws against immigrants. "Kicking back clandestines to their countries is working," commented Berlusconi with satisfaction on electoral campaign in Florence, one of the four key cities for the administrative turn-out (the others being Bologna, Milano and Torino). Later while visiting Prato, a town near Florence where textile workers are mostly Asian immigrants, he called minister Roberto Maroni to complain: "There are too many Chinese here".

The opposition exists, but has difficulty emerging. In Florence, while Silvio was saluting the crowd from the door of his car, a citizen shouted: "Mafioso, you should undergo a trial in court," as La Stampa reports. He was quickly pushed away, almost saved from being beaten by a police officer, but managed to add: "Nice liberals you all are, this is also my piazza." A verbal war went on at a nearby demonstration against the government, complete with banners reading "Papi, make me a TV star", referring to the scandal involving Berlusconi's relationship with Noemi, the daughter of a TV showgirl. Campaigning for Europe, Berlusconi complains against bureaucracy that stifles entrepreneurship: "There is a bad habit to make laws for anything, from the length of artichokes to the curves of zucchini." No wonder, he adds, that "polls say we will get between 43% and 45% of the votes ... we will be stronger in the European popular party, at that point we will have the president of the European parliament and abroad we will get more respect."

The opposition is hammering on about the sex and corruption scandal, which – also according to most foreign media – should bring the premier to resign. But Napolitano criticised this "nasty electoral campaign" and asked for "lower tones" when discussing personal gossip. The latest scandal is regarding the use of government aeroplane flights for private reasons (the latest being that of singer Mariano Apicella caught on a state plane with Berlusconi for a non-governmental flight). Even new editor-in-chief Mario Calabresi writes on La Stampa: "There are more important issues. We vote in three days and the two leading political sides continue to talk about showgirls, lovers and state flights ... The government majority should answer to the questions regarding our decline and the opposition should propose a strong alternative for Italy instead of running after singer Apicella's flight, which won't budge a single vote." What is personal is political? Italians disagree. We'll see the results at these upcoming elections.